Academy head warns Pori could lose flight training without airport upkeep

The Finnish Aviation Academy’s operations in Pori could become impossible if the airport is no longer maintained, its rector told Yle. Finavia would stop maintaining Pori Airport if it had no passenger traffic.

The future of state-supported regional flights is also in question after a Ministry of Transport and Communications report proposed ending the service.

“For now, we are in Pori. That is what the owner has decided,” said academy rector Ari Tolonen. The Finnish state owns 98 percent of the academy, with the City of Pori holding the remaining two percent.

Tolonen said the academy would not leave Pori quickly. But if the airport infrastructure is not available or kept in good condition, the academy would have to consider other options. “Without maintenance, Pori would quickly become little more than a rural airfield,” he said.

Tolonen called on Finavia to set out a long-term plan, saying operations are currently difficult to predict from the user’s perspective.

Employment Minister Matias Marttinen told Yle that individual state-owned companies do not decide to stop maintaining airports. Such decisions are made at government level and depend on the state owner’s intentions, he said.

Pori Mayor Lauri Inna said he believed the academy would remain in the city, pointing to planned development. The city is providing a five-million-euro loan for a new hangar and teaching facilities at the airport. The Pori Adult Education Foundation would rent the building for vocational education.

The project is estimated to cost 11.4 million euros. The foundation plans to finance 6.4 million euros from its own investments, with the rest coming from the city loan.

Inna said the city and the academy needed to take a long-term view of the airport’s future. He added that Pori should be included if national-level arrangements are made for air services.